As much as I've fallen off and on the Kemba bandwagon, I'm still hesitant about selecting the guy at 5. Yes, what he did in the college ranks and NCAA tourney last year was highly impressive, and you can certainly make a point that he's a winner, but I need to see the kid actually make his teammates better. I need to see him actually run an offense. Is he going to be effective on defense despite his lack of a wingspan? I'm not worried about his shot, because he could develop a jump shot as long as he puts in the time. I mean, there are questions surrounding a lot of players, but when it comes down to the point guard position, it's important to select a guy who could become a very good floor general and put his teammates in a position to succeed. I certainly wouldn't be mad if the Raptors did select him. I put my trust in Colangelo and Casey.

One guy who I wouldn't be surprised if they selected is Alec Burks (if the Raptors decide to trade down). He's had some really decent workouts as of late, improved his consistency, and some even view the guy as a long term solution at the point (the Kings and Warriors are apparently high on him). To some teams, his size, potential and versatility are intriguing.

If you watched his games you must have seen him making his teammates better and running the offense. Calhoun has had nothing but high praise for him. Long before he decided to opt for the draft. He was a very good defender in college and good defense has a lot more to do with effort and know how than size. He has everything else. Worse case he's an average defender.

If you watched his games you must have seen him making his teammates better and running the offense. Calhoun has had nothing but high praise for him. Long before he decided to opt for the draft. He was a very good defender in college and good defense has a lot more to do with effort and know how than size. He has everything else. Worse case he's an average defender.

I saw him taking the lion's share of shots. Fair amount actually. Could that because he didn't have faith in his teammates? Could be. I know he tried to do it all, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but he's going to have to learn to trust his teammates at the pro level. Like I said before, if he's the selection, I wouldn't be mad at the Raptors' brass, because I trust Colangelo's decision making, especially when it comes to the draft. The guy who comes to mind when I think of Walker is Speedy Claxton. A smallish in stature, New York area point guard prospect who becomes a solid reserve at the point guard position.

Yeah, just last season and because his coach told him. You can't knock a guy for following orders, can you? Would you think differently of him it he didn't elect to listen to his coach and instead dished it off to teammates who tossed up bricks? Would we even be talking about him now had he not carried his team into the tourney? They wouldn't have made it without them leaning on him. Calhoun is a smart man.

MangoKid wrote:

I know he tried to do it all, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but he's going to have to learn to trust his teammates at the pro level.

Not "tried", he did do it all and was pretty successful doing it most of the season. It's probably why Calhoun leaned on him more and more as time went on.

MangoKid wrote:

The guy who comes to mind when I think of Walker is Speedy Claxton. A smallish in stature, New York area point guard prospect who becomes a solid reserve at the point guard position.

I don't think he's anything like Speedy personally. I think its inaccurate. You're lumping him in a category solely because he followed his coaches orders and played a different style than he did in the past. While playing outside his prior realm he managed to post good assist numbers and had a very nice A/T.

As much as I've fallen off and on the Kemba bandwagon, I'm still hesitant about selecting the guy at 5. Yes, what he did in the college ranks and NCAA tourney last year was highly impressive, and you can certainly make a point that he's a winner, but I need to see the kid actually make his teammates better. I need to see him actually run an offense. Is he going to be effective on defense despite his lack of a wingspan? I'm not worried about his shot, because he could develop a jump shot as long as he puts in the time. I mean, there are questions surrounding a lot of players, but when it comes down to the point guard position, it's important to select a guy who could become a very good floor general and put his teammates in a position to succeed. I certainly wouldn't be mad if the Raptors did select him. I put my trust in Colangelo and Casey.

One guy who I wouldn't be surprised if they selected is Alec Burks (if the Raptors decide to trade down). He's had some really decent workouts as of late, improved his consistency, and some even view the guy as a long term solution at the point (the Kings and Warriors are apparently high on him). To some teams, his size, potential and versatility are intriguing.

You obviously never saw Kemba play in his freshman and sophmore seasons when he was just a really good floor general who could not score.

There is legitimate concern that UConn's Kemba Walker could be sliding deep into the lottery or even out of it altogether if Sacramento were to pass on him at No. 7. However, Walker's representation isn't worried about the number as much as the fit. Walker initially was comfortable that he would be going to Toronto (No. 5), Sacramento (7) or Detroit (8). But the Raptors and Pistons have cooled a bit and a number of teams slotted after the Pistons are actively discussing that he might be on the board when they select.

You obviously never saw Kemba play in his freshman and sophmore seasons when he was just a really good floor general who could not score.

Come on, man. Statements like "you obviously never saw".. unless the statement is EXTREMELY way off is really bogus. The main reason why there are rumours that his stock is dropping is because GM's are hesitant on whether or not he can effective run an offense. It's nothing new. The same questions remained with scouts even AFTER the NCAA Tourney this year. It has nothing to do with height - that story checked out, or the fact that he can score. I saw him in his freshman year play and contribute towards UConn's final 4 run. He played some good minutes, but his assist total or assist to turnover ratio didn't pop out at me.

Kemba was literally the first AND second option of offense. lamb blossomed into a quality supporting role late in the tourney and as such, we saw kemba become more of a playmaker too. a guy that takes too many shots would have shot the team out of the championship game, kemba did not. he deferred to lamb and upped his D.

Yeah, just last season and because his coach told him. You can't knock a guy for following orders, can you? Would you think differently of him it he didn't elect to listen to his coach and instead dished it off to teammates who tossed up bricks? Would we even be talking about him now had he not carried his team into the tourney? They wouldn't have made it without them leaning on him. Calhoun is a smart man.

No, you can't fault the guy for following orders, but at the same time, he's still going to have that stigma (of being more of a combo-guard than true point guard) associated with him. Is it fair? Probably not, but when you're the size of a point guard and you shoot quite often, there are going to be questions in regards to your pure point guard skills. And it's not just my view point.

Apollo wrote:

Not "tried", he did do it all and was pretty successful doing it most of the season. It's probably why Calhoun leaned on him more and more as time went on.

He was successful this season. It resulted in a NCAA tourney win and a POY nomination. He had an excellent season. If I were Calhoun, I would have leaned on him too.

Apollo wrote:

I don't think he's anything like Speedy personally. I think its inaccurate. You're lumping him in a category solely because he followed his coaches orders and played a different style than he did in the past. While playing outside his prior realm he managed to post good assist numbers and had a very nice A/T.

This is where we'll have to agree to disagree. I just feel as though their games are similar. Both were speedy and thought of as undersized, both were the unquestioned leaders of their teams, both were good rebounders at the collegiate level, both were dynamic scorers - who shot sub. 50% from the floor, whose teams leaned on, both played big minutes and had okay assist totals and okay assist-to-turnover ratios, both were ballhawks in terms of steals. There's nothing wrong with the comparison. Claxton carved out a nice niche in the NBA. I think Kemba will do the same.

I don't know if Jimmer is that guy to pair with Tyreke Evans. There was a report that the Maloofs were in love with Burks and were strongly considering him at 7. Maybe Sacramento gets a deal done with the Spurs for Parker and gives up the #7 pick in the process.